Pastor's Corner

20Jul

Mid-Week Challenge

Mid-Week Challenge

The evening news announced last night that Pokémon GO has become the most popular and most profitable mobile game in American history. The app instructs players to use their mobile devices to catch Pokémon characters in the real world. It has sent multitudes of people into streets, parks, and malls looking for such creatures. More than twenty-one million people play the game every day in the US. If you grew up in the late 80s and early 90s you might remember the Nintendo Gameboy being the first place you heard of a Pokémon. The little monsters have come a long way since that “olive-green” screen. In the week since its release, it has already increased Nintendo's value by over $9 billion dollars and iPhone users spend roughly $1.6 million a day on in-app purchases.

The evening news announced last night that Pokémon GO has become the most popular and most profitable mobile game in American history. The app instructs players to use their mobile devices to catch Pokémon characters in the real world. It has sent multitudes of people into streets, parks, and malls looking for such creatures. More than twenty-one million people play the game every day in the US. If you grew up in the late 80s and early 90s you might remember the Nintendo Gameboy being the first place you heard of a Pokémon. The little monsters have come a long way since that “olive-green” screen. In the week since its release, it has already increased Nintendo's value by over $9 billion dollars and iPhone users spend roughly $1.6 million a day on in-app purchases.

The idea of Pokémon Go is to use your phone's GPS and camera to turn your world into a real-life scavenger hunt for the Pokémon. The game designers have “hidden” these animated creatures all over the globe causing millions to get outside and try to catch them all. The game has not been without controversy. Criminals in Missouri were caught using the game to lure people in and then rob them. A young man in a National Park was not paying attention and stepped too close to the edge of a cliff and fell. On a positive note many have pointed out that the game has provided an opportunity for families to get out together. Others have noted that one reason for the popularity of Pokémon GO is that it provides a distraction from the cares of the world that surrounds us.

After reading the reviews and reaction to the game I came upon an enlightening article that explains the sudden rise in success. John Stonestreet of BreakPoint makes an intriguing observation and conclusion by comparing the findings of a 1985 book by social critic Neal Postman. Stonestreet points out that in the introduction to Postman’s book “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” he compared two famous visions of the future: “1984” by George Orwell and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. He noted that though many people thought their visions similar, Huxley and Orwell had very different theories about how people would lose their freedoms. In “1984,” people are controlled by inflicting pain. In “Brave New World,” they were controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared what we love will ruin us. http://www.christianheadlines.com/columnists/breakpoint/should-you-allow-your-kids-to-play-pok-mon-go.html

It is an interesting observation that helps to describe our current culture. Although Big Government makes advances upon us each day, at the same time we give away our freedoms in pursuit of mindless endeavors. The search for self-gratification has plummeted many into ruin and their actions seem to have no educational effect on those who are around them because scores of people continue down the same destructive paths. As we observe our culture, Scripture becomes more alive at each turn. What we find is that the Bible warns us that the battle has always been for our minds. If Satan can get us to check out mentally then his battle is won. As we give ourselves over to mindless entertainment and as more of us fail to engage the culture we become uneducated and ill-equipped to process the events of our day.

There is nothing wrong with moments of mental escape with activities like Pokémon or a television sitcom, but we cannot afford to checkout mentally. Our culture needs the Gospel message more now than ever before. Renew your mind each day and allow God to use you where you are in your walk with Him!

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3 - 5

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12